Courage Campaign Institute and Forecast The Facts Blanket LA Times and NY Times Websites With Ads Opposing Sale Of LA Times To Koch Brothers

Today, Courage Campaign Institute and Forecast the Facts announced they will blanket the Los Angeles Times and New York Times websites in the Los Angeles-area for a month with ads opposing the sale of the Los Angeles Times to the Koch brothers. The ads urge people to pledge to stop reading and subscribing to the Los Angeles Times if it is sold to the Koch brothers.

You can see the ad here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.couragecampaign.org/images/Accountability_LATimesPuppets_800x600px_FINAL050813_2.jpg

The announcement of the ad campaign comes the day after the Courage Campaign Institute and Forecast the Facts joined with numerous other progressive groups to announce a new coalition, with more than 6 million members, that will fight to oppose the sale.

The escalation of the campaign comes after rumors that deal books are being shipped this week and that the Tribune Company is looking to make a deal quickly.

“The Koch brothers’ intentions could not be more clear,” said Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of Courage Campaign Institute. “The Koch brothers want to buy the biggest paper in California and the fourth largest in the nation so they can set the debate, not cover it. They want to determine the outcome of events, not cover them. They want to add to the outsized influence money and power has over our government and politicians, not serve as the public’s watchdog to prevent it.”

“The Koch brothers have poured millions into promoting dangerous myths like climate change denial, voter fraud, and the supposed insolvency of Social Security,” said Daniel Souweine, Campaign Director of Forecast the Facts. “It would be unconscionable for the Tribune Company to sell its trusted newspapers to partisan activists who have shown such an overwhelming commitment to misleading the public on important issues of the day.”

Last month, the Courage Campaign Institute and Forecast the Facts, together with a coalition of other groups, launched a petition opposing the sale. The petition was signed by more than 250,000 people and hand-delivered to the LA Times headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

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